Patient transfer kit

ABSTRACT

A patient transfer kit including an inflatable mattress, alternatively with a rigid top board with a patient restraint system on which a patient can be placed, when patient immobilization is required. A portable cart is included with a chamber for storage of a plurality of mattresses. The cart also has a gas/air blower and power supply system for powering the blower. The power system includes provision for drawing power from line AC/DC, and has a rechargeable battery and charger for maintaining the battery by connecting the supply to the line AC/DC. The mattress has a perforated bottom surface for exit of air to provide an air cushion, and is constructed with a white top surface and a dark bottom surface for optimum recognition of contamination, and identification of the bottom surface which must be placed downward. The cart is coated with an antimicrobial substance to minimize the risk of contaminants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/538,211, filed Oct. 3, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,276,222, issued onOct. 2, 2012, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/036,413, filed Jan. 14, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,204,issued on Oct. 3, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to apparatus for transferringbed patients, and more particularly to a system including a bed with aninflatable mattress for moving a patient on a cushion of air, whereinthe bed has integrated thereon an assembly including a gas/air supplyfor inflating the mattress, and an air mattress storage container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-ambulatory patients who must be supported and moved in a patientfacility such as a hospital or a nursing home present substantialchallenges when a course of treatment for such patients calls formovement from one location to another. A patient, for example, may needto be moved from a hospital bed, which must remain in the patient'sroom, to a stretcher and then from the stretcher to a treatment locationsuch as a surgical table in an operating room. Following treatment thereverse patient handling sequence must occur; i.e., the patient must bemoved from the surgical table, which remains in the operating room, to astretcher which travels to the patient's hospital room, and then fromthe stretcher back onto the bed in the hospital room.

In a very large percentage of such occurrences the patient must behandled in a fashion which requires only a minimum of movement of thepatient with respect to a supporting surface. In the case of a patientbeing returned to a hospital room following surgery, for example, thepatient's body may not be able to withstand the stresses and strains ofbeing lifted from a stretcher to the bed when one or even severalhospital personnel combine their efforts to make such a transfer.

The same challenge of moving a patient with minimum handling exists innon-surgical settings as well. The bariatric patient is a prime and verycommon example. When such a patient is morbidly obese, transferringpresents difficulties for both the patient and the care facility staff.While no exact definition of morbid obesity is universally recognized,many hospitals and other treatment facilities consider a person whoweighs about 350 pounds or more to fall within that definition.

Movement of a morbidly obese person often requires the hospital staff tophysically lift and/or slide the patient from an at rest position on ahospital bed to an at rest position on a stretcher a total of four timesto complete a single treatment cycle, such as surgery. The staff mustperform the task of lifting and/or sliding such a patient because innearly all instances the patient, due to the physical condition ofobesity and/or illness, simply cannot personally do the task. Themanipulation of such a person requires a plurality of hospital staffsince such manipulation is impossible to perform by a single person suchas a floor nurse assigned to the patient's room. As a consequence, suchtransfers must be planned in advance for a specific time and a number ofhospital staff must be notified and arrange their schedules so that allstaff will be available at the same time. As is well known, manyhospital staff are females and many of these persons are rather slightof stature. As a result, a half dozen or more such persons may need tobe assembled. Instances have been known in which a morbidly obesepatient has required twelve persons to effect the transfer. Gatheringtogether such a large number of people four times at often uncertainintervals to provide but a single cycle of treatment raises obviouslogistical problems and, in addition, erodes the quality of care thefacility can render by reason of the application of such a large numberof personnel to deal with but a single patient treatment episode.

A further drawback to such a patient handling system as above describedis that, even with the best intentioned and caring of staff, the patientvery often suffers substantial discomfort. The simple act of sliding apatient over a flat surface can be very painful to a patient who has hadsurgical incisions which are far from healed, for example.

An attempt has been made to overcome the above described problems by theuse of an air mattress onto which the patient is placed while in his bedand which is then placed onto a wheeler. A problem common to all suchdevices is that invariably the air mattress has the generalcharacteristic of a balloon, in the sense that when one area is indentedanother remote area will bulge, thus creating an unstable condition. Iffor example a stretcher carrying an obese person makes a sharp turnduring a trip to or from a treatment location, such an obese person willtend to roll toward the outside of the turn due to the instability ofsuch a conventional mattress. The more the patient rolls, the more themattress portion toward which the rolling movement occurs will depress,and the greater will be the expansion of the mattress on the other sideof the patient. In effect, the conventional mattress reinforces theundesirable rolling movement and is unstable. Since much of the time thepatient is incapable of stopping the rolling action by himself, thepatient may roll off the stretcher onto the floor with disastrousconsequences. Indeed, even in the instance of a patient who is capableof moving himself to some degree about his longitudinal body axis thesame disastrous result may occur because the displacement of air fromone edge portion of the mattress to the opposite edge portion creates ineffect a tipping cradle. Only if the patient lies perfectly flat andperfectly still on the stretcher, and no roadway depressions or blockingobjects, such as excess hospital beds stored in a hallway, areencountered can the probabilities of an accident be lessened.

Another problem with prior art methods of moving patients using an aircushion is the complexity of the procedure. The air mattress must firstbe positioned under the patient. Then an air pump must be transported tothe bed area and connected to the mattress. The mattress is theninflated and the patient moved. The same process is repeated each timethe patient needs to be transferred from one bed/stretcher/table toanother.

A still further problem with prior art apparatus is control ofcontamination. Often, a tedious cleaning protocol follows after such useto avoid cross-contamination. Cleaning is particularly difficult becausecontaminant particles can penetrate into the mat material, and when themat is inflated, the pressure can force the particles out and into theair. The high cost of prior art air cushions requires their re-use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes apatient transfer apparatus including an inflatable mattress,alternatively with a rigid top board with a patient restraint system onwhich a patient can be placed when patient immobilization is required. Aportable cart is included with a chamber for storage of a plurality ofmattresses. The cart also has a gas/air blower and power supply systemfor empowering the blower. The power system includes provision fordrawing power from line AC/DC, and has a rechargeable battery andcharger for maintaining the battery by connecting the supply to the lineAC/DC. The mattress has a perforated bottom surface for exit of air toprovide an air cushion, and is constructed with a white top surface anda dark bottom surface for optimum recognition of contamination, andidentification of the bottom surface which must be placed downward. Thecart is coated with an antimicrobial substance to minimize the risk ofcontaminants.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an integrated patient transfer system according tothe present invention as applied to a stretcher;

FIG. 2 illustrates an integrated patient transfer system according tothe present invention as applied to a hospital bed;

FIG. 3 illustrates an air cushion and supply cart according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an air cushion storage section of the cart of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cart of FIG. 3 for illustrating an airblower and power supply;

FIG. 6 illustrates interconnecting apparatus for attaching an air supplyhose to the mat;

FIG. 7 illustrates patient movement between beds; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a board with the inflatable mattress.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the system 10 of the present invention is shown in FIG.1 as applied to a stretcher 12. The stretcher 12 can be of any type,such as used in a hospital or an ambulance, and can have fixed heightlegs 14 or adjustable height as indicated symbolically by adjusters 16.According to the system of the present invention, a patient bedillustrated as a stretcher 12 in FIG. 1 is assembled with an airmattress air supply system 18 attached. The term “air” as used in thepresent disclosure is meant to refer to air or any other gas that can beused to inflate an inflatable mattress. “Air mattress” therefore refersto a mattress that can be inflated with any such gas. Although the bedis illustrated as a stretcher, the present invention includes any typeof bed/surface for supporting a patient, and will be referred to as abed apparatus including any form of patient support apparatus, such as astretcher or hospital bed, etc. The supply system 18 has a compartment20 for storage of one or more air mattresses such as air mattress 22 forplacement on a bed/stretcher 12. The supply system 18 has included agas/air blower 24, a gas/air hose 26 and apparatus for storing the hose28. A power supply 30 is included, having a rechargeable battery andrecharging supply. A power cord 32 and cord storage 36 is provided. Thecord 32 can be plugged into an AC outlet for running the blower, and/orsimply for charging the battery. With the battery charged, the blowercan be operated without the need to plug the cord into an outlet. Thesupply 30 has an on-off switch 38, and alternatively a display/indicator40 for showing the degree of charge on the supply battery. The hose 26has a connector 42 on a distal end for connection to a receptacle 44 onthe air mattress 22. As a further embodiment, an alternative powerswitch 43 is provided near the connector 42. As an alternate embodiment,various portions of the system 10 may be coated in part or totally withan antimicrobial coating, indicated symbolically with dots in FIG. 1 ona portion 46.

The air mattress 22 is constructed with small holes in the bottomsurface 48 to allow gas to exit from inside the mattress 22 so as tocreate an air cushion for levitating the air mattress. As an alternateembodiment, the bottom surface with the holes is marked to indicate thatit is to be placed downward. The top surface 50 is preferably a verylight color, more preferably white to more easily observe contamination.The purpose of the very light top surface is to allow operatingpersonnel to more easily identify contamination on the top surface. Themattress may be constructed with a white top surface and a dark bottomsurface for optimum recognition of contamination, and identification ofthe bottom surface which must be placed downward. A substantial portionof the air mattress 22 (approximately 90%) is preferably constructed ofnylon, and as a result is less expensive to fabricate than prior art airmattresses. The low cost, disposable air mattress of the presentinvention is a major improvement in sanitation for an inflatable airmattress, since contaminant particles can become embedded in the airmattress material which makes cleaning difficult. This is a particularproblem because when an air mattress is inflated, the gas pressureforces contaminants from the material, making them air borne. The airmattress seams are sonically welded together, which reduces artifacts inx-rays.

The inflatable air mattress 22 can be positioned on a firm surface suchas the slab 51 illustrated in FIG. 1, or alternatively the air mattress22 can be placed either on top of or under a non-inflatable mattress.These alternative positions are illustrated more clearly in a planarview, as shown and discussed in reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 2 illustrates the integration of a supply system 52 on anadjustable hospital bed 54. The supply system 52 has the features of thesupply system 18 that is integrated on the stretcher of FIG. 1. The bed54 and stretcher 12 are only symbolically illustrated. Those skilled inthe art will know how to construct a stretcher and adjustable hospitalbed. The present invention includes the combination of any stretcher orbed with a supply system attached/integrated such as supply 18 or 52.Planar items 55, 56, 57, 59 and adjusters 58 are symbolically shown toindicate an adjustable patient surface, and optional adjustable legs areindicated symbolically by legs 60 and adjusters 62. A hose 64 is shownconnected to the air mattress 22. The air mattress 22 shown in FIG. 2 isshown placed on firm planar elements/items 55-59. The mattress 22 ofFIG. 2 can also be placed on top of or under a non-inflatable mattressin a similar way as that described in reference to FIG. 1, and shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7.

An alternate embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG.3 for use in applying the system to existing beds. In this embodiment, aportable supply cart 66 is provided for supplying air to an air mattress22. The cart 66 has wheels 68 and a handle 70 for convenientportability. The cart 66 also has features similar to those described inreference to the supply 18 of FIG. 1, including a storage compartmentfor storage of one or more air mattresses 22, a rechargeable powersupply, a hose 26 and power cord 32, one or more on-off switches locatedeither at 76 or 43 or at both positions, and alternatively a display 80for showing the degree of charge on a rechargeable battery cart insideand outside included in the cart 66. As an alternate embodiment, thecart 66 can have an antimicrobial coating 81 on part or all of the cartinside and outside surfaces. An antimicrobial surface in the mat storagechamber 86 (FIG. 4) helps maintain the sanitary condition of a mat ormats stored therein prior to their use on a bed. The view of the airmattress 22 of FIG. 3 allows illustration of the bottom surface 48 andthe holes for exit of gas/air, noted as items 82.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the cart 66 with a lid 84 open to show 1enclosure/compartment 86 for storing one or more air mattresses 22.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cart 66 for showing a gas/air blower88 and a power supply 90 as part of the cart 66. The blower 88 andsupply 90 have the same functions as the blower 24 and supply 30 of FIG.1.

FIG. 6 provides a more detailed view of the receptacle 44 and connector42 introduced in reference to FIG. 1. This connector and receptaclecombination is an improvement over prior art apparatus used to connectto inflatable mattresses for providing an air cushion for movingpatients. The prior art connections are made with hook and loop materialthat can harbor contamination. The nonporous surface of the material ofthe apparatus of FIG. 6 is more sanitary since it can be easily cleaned.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system of the present invention in operation. Apatient 90 is on a first bed apparatus 92, and is to be moved onto anadjacent second bed apparatus 94. The patient 90 has been placed on aninflatable mattress 22 for providing an air cushion 96, and the supplysystem 18 has the hose 26 connected to the air mattress 22 and issupplying a gas, a portion of which is forced out exit holes 82, causingthe air mattress 22 to float on a cushion of air/gas 96. An attendantcan at this stage, move the air mattress 22 with patient over onto thebed 94. The planar view of FIG. 7 is also used in the present disclosureto illustrate placing the air mattress either above or below anon-inflatable mattress. Dashed outline 93 illustrates a non-inflatablemattress on which air mattress 22 is placed. A similar non-inflatablemattress 95 can also be placed on bed 94. Alternatively, the airmattress 22 can be placed under a non-inflatable mattress 97 upon whichthe patient 90 is placed. Any combination of inflatable air mattressesas described herein with non-inflatable mattresses on any of the variousbeds described in the present disclosure are included in the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows a bed with the inflatable mattress and supply systemsimilar to that displayed in FIG. 1, except for the addition of a board98 for stabilization of a patient 100. The board 98 is shown attached tothe inflatable air mattress 102 with fasteners 104. Other methods forattaching/retaining the board 98 to the mattress 102 will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, and these are also included in the spirit ofthe present invention. One example of another method of retaining theboard would be to insert it in a pocket attached to or integral with themattress 102. For further stabilization of the patient 100, straps 105and 106 may be included, attached to the board 98 as shown, or to themattress 102. A board as described with the attachment can be usedwhenever the inflatable mattress is used, in all of the applications asdescribed in the present disclosure. The mattress 102 may be placeddirectly on the firm surface of the stretcher 12, or on a similarsurface of a hospital bed, or it can be placed over a non-inflatablemattress as described in reference to FIG. 7.

The above embodiments of the present invention have been given asexamples, illustrative of the principles of the present invention.Variations of the method and apparatus will be apparent to those skilledin the art upon reading the present disclosure. These variations are tobe included in the spirit of the present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An assembly for patient managementcomprising: an inflatable mattress with a plurality of air exit holes ona bottom portion for providing an air cushion, said mattress including atop portion having a color of white for ease of observing contaminationand a bottom portion having a contrasting color to indicate a downwardorientation; a patient support apparatus upon which to place saidmattress is disposed; and an inflation apparatus connected to themattress that inflates the mattress.
 2. The assembly as recited in claim1 wherein said inflation apparatus is selectively connectable to thepatient support apparatus.
 3. The assembly as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid inflation apparatus includes an air blower; and a power supplyapparatus including a rechargeable battery and a battery charger.
 4. Theassembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said patient support apparatus isa stretcher.
 5. The assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said patientsupport apparatus is an adjustable hospital bed.
 6. The assembly asrecited in claim 1 wherein a pocket is defined in the mattress that isconfigured to receive a stabilizing board.
 7. The assembly as recited inclaim 1 wherein said inflation apparatus includes an air blower and ahose connected at a proximal end to the airblower and at a distal end tothe mattress, the hose further including a power supply on-off switchdisposed proximal to a distal end of said hose for selectivelyactivating the air blower.
 8. The assembly as recited in claim 7 whereinsaid power supply apparatus further includes a display for indicating adegree of charge of said battery.
 9. A patient transfer mattress,comprising: a top sheet having a color of white for ease of observingcontamination and a periphery; a bottom sheet having a plurality of airexit holes for providing an air cushion when said mattress is inflated,a periphery connected to the periphery of the top sheet and acontrasting color to indicate a downward orientation; and a receptacleintegrated into one of the top sheet and the bottom sheet, saidreceptacle configured to receive a connector for supplying air toinflate said mattress.
 10. The patient transfer mattress as recited inclaim 9 wherein said bottom sheet includes indicia to indicate that saidbottom sheet is correctly oriented downward.
 11. The patient transfermattress as recited in claim 10 wherein said indicia includes a colordark relative to said top sheet.
 12. The patient transfer mattress asrecited in claim 9 wherein a material of construction for said top sheetand said bottom sheet is nylon for a one time use in order to avoidcontamination between users.